| <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> |
| <!DOCTYPE preface PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN" |
| "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd"> |
| <preface id="preface"> |
| <title>Preface</title> |
| <para> |
| Application development has seen significant changes in the last years, moving towards a simpler, more agile, |
| POJO-based programming model in order to keep a fast pace. Dependency injection and Aspect Oriented Programming, |
| which were once <emphasis>bleeding edge</emphasis> ideas, are used on a daily basis by most developers to manage |
| and simplify the complexity of their applications.</para> |
| |
| <para>However, in terms of deployment, things have remained mainly unchanged. Even though code bases are divided into |
| modules, whether logical, conceptual or physical, at runtime they are seen as one monolithic application in which, |
| making a change (be it large or small), requires a restart. <ulink url="http://www.osgi.org">OSGi</ulink> aims |
| to change this by allowing applications to be divided into <emphasis>modules</emphasis> that can have different |
| life cycles, dependencies and still exist as a whole.</para> |
| |
| <para>Eclipse Gemini Blueprint (formerly Spring Dynamic Modules) focuses on integrating Spring Framework's powerful, non-invasive programming model and |
| concepts with the dynamics and modularity of the OSGi platform. It allows transparent exporting and importing of OSGi |
| services, life cycle management and control. Moreover, the Spring DM model was standardized in OSGi r4.2, in the form |
| of the <ulink url="http://www.osgi.org/Specifications/Drafts">Blueprint</ulink> Container for which Eclipse Gemini Blueprint |
| serves as the reference implementation (RI). |
| </para> |
| <para> |
| While every effort has been made to ensure that this documentation is comprehensive and there are no errors, |
| nevertheless some topics might require more explanation and some typos might have crept in. If you do spot any |
| mistakes or even more serious errors and you can spare a few cycles during lunch, please do bring the error |
| to the attention of the Eclipse Gemini Blueprint team by raising an |
| <ulink url="https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/buglist.cgi?product=Gemini.Blueprint">issue</ulink>. Thank you. |
| </para> |
| |
| </preface> |